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$50,000 Awarded to Pilot Programs that Recruit and Retain Women in Computing

We know to solve the world’s most difficult challenges we need diverse teams.

Boulder, CO (PRWEB)February 11, 2014

The National Center for Women & Information Technology (NCWIT) and Microsoft Research today announce the winners of the NCWIT Academic Alliance Seed Fund, which provides U.S. academic institutions with start-up funds to develop and implement initiatives that recruit and retain women in computing and technology fields of study. Since 2007, NCWIT and Microsoft Research have awarded $465,450 in funding to 39 universities and colleges over 10 funding rounds.

“We know to solve the world’s most difficult challenges we need diverse teams,” said Rane Johnson-Stempson Principal research Director At Microsoft Research. “This is why Microsoft is pleased to support the NCWIT Seed Fund to encourage more effective ways of recruitment and retention of women at college-level computing and technology programs.”

The NCWIT Academic Alliance Seed Fund will provide $10,000 each to the following five U.S. institutions:

*College of St. Scholastica (Jennifer Rosato): Promoting Female and Diverse Student Retention through Faculty Use of a Growth Mindset Approach -- This project will provide professional development for faculty teaching at The College of St. Scholastica, assisting them in instilling a growth mindset among students in the Computer Science/Computer Information Systems (CS/CIS) major and associated concentrations, as well as pre-engineering courses at the College of St. Scholastica.

*Georgia Gwinnett College (Sonal Dekhane, Kristine Nagel, and Nannette Napier): Georgia Gwinnett College Women in IT Boot Camp -- The Georgia Gwinnett College (GGC) Women in IT Boot Camp is a weeklong workshop that will provide 24 rising female IT sophomores opportunity to gain a head start in programming.

*South Carolina Technical College System (Stephanie Frazier and Salandra Bowman): SCTCS Triple A (AAA) Academy -- The South Carolina Technical College System (SCTCS) proposes the implementation of the Triple A (AAA) Academy for 10-14 females enrolled in IT programs (i.e., certificates, diplomas, or associate degrees). The initiative is a one-week pilot program that promotes abilITy, acuITy, and audacITy in IT-related fields.

*Tufts University (Benjamin Shapiro): Engaging Women in Computing Through Musical Instrument and Performance -- Tufts University will design a curriculum and accompanying set of hardware and software tools that teaches computational thinking and engineering through the design and construction of tangible programmable electronic musical instruments that youth can use for live performance.

*University of Arizona (Gondy Leroy & Paulo Goes): Tomorrow’s Leaders Equipped for Diversity -- In the proposed project, the University of Arizona’s MIS department will team with industry to make students in CS and MIS aware of diversity issues, with a special focus on gender, preparing them to be leaders and managers who are equipped to both counter the problems and leverage the benefits surrounding diversity.

About NCWIT
The National Center for Women & Information Technology (NCWIT) is a non-profit community of more than 500 universities, companies, non-profits, and government organizations nationwide working to increase women’s participation in computing and technology. NCWIT helps organizations more effectively recruit, retain, and advance girls and women in K-12 through college education, and from academic to corporate and startup careers. Find out more at http://www.ncwit.org.

About Microsoft Research
Founded in 1991, Microsoft Research is dedicated to conducting both basic and applied research in computer science and software engineering. More than 850 Ph.D. researchers focus on more than 55 areas of computing and openly collaborate with leading academic, government, and industry researchers to advance the state of the art of computing, help fuel the long-term growth of Microsoft and its products, and solve some of the world’s toughest problems through technological innovation. Microsoft Research has expanded over the years to seven countries worldwide and brings together the best minds in computer science to advance a research agenda based on an array of unique talents and interests. Microsoft Research operates in Redmond, Wash.; Cambridge, Mass.; New York City; Mountain View, Calif.; Cambridge, U.K.; Beijing; and Bangalore, India; and conducts research at Advanced Technology Labs Cairo; Advanced Technology Labs Europe in Aachen, Germany; Advanced Technology Labs Israel; FUSE Labs in Redmond; the eXtreme Computing Group in Redmond; and Station Q in Santa Barbara, Calif. More information can be found at http://research.microsoft.com.